Just in time for the holiday party season to begin, The Mindy Project aired its annual Christmas episode — full of prints, sequins, and fun!
“Every season we have done a Christmas episode, and we love doing themed costume changes the whole episode,” the show’s costume designer, Salvador Perez, exclusively tells Us Weekly.
PHOTOS: Us Weekly‘s must-read gift guide
The statement look of the night’s show was undoubtedly the hunter green cocktail dress with sparkly embellishments. “Mindy loves a holiday party, but we had done red dresses in the past, so I went green this time,” Perez says.
Sadly, though, the number, paired with Neiman Marcus earrings and Michael Kors shoes, is a custom design by Perez. “I chose a dark green wool, and I wanted to embellish the dress with beading so Mindy looked like a Christmas angel with her wings tucked back,” he tells Us.
Perez turned to Paule Drissi, who studied under legendary costume designer Irene Sharaff of Funny Girl and West Side Story fame. “She worked with me to design the pattern of feathers on the side panels of the dress with beads and Swarovski crystals,” he says. “The silhouette was so flattering; it’s one of my favorite dresses we have made for her.”
“I always like to start an episode bright and colorful,” Perez says of this opening outfit of a Clover Canyon neoprene dress paired with a custom coat by Perez, Saint Laurent heels, Chanel bag, and Aqua earrings. “The bold stripes needed an anchor color, so we made her the golden yellow cashmere coat to go with it.”
In case viewers were confused by what episode this was, Perez hammered the holiday theme home. “This was my not-so-subtle Christmas outfit, aka ‘Sexy Santa elf goes to work in NYC,'” Perez explains to Us. A Theory blouse topped with a J.Crew vest, paired with a Tory Burch skirt, made the ensemble. “The Ted Baker belt with the bow detail was the perfect finishing touch,” he says.
How to jazz up a neutral outfit a la this Karen Millen sheath to give it a holiday touch? Add doses of red. “I made her the black with red flecked coat,” Perez tells Us. “So we accented the outfit with a red Birkin bag and Madewell shoes.”
